Mastro’s, a Valentine’s Day treat

Last month, Husband had a “boys’ night out” and splurged on a dinner with friends at Mastro’s, a fine-dining steakhouse in Beverly Hills. He came back raving about the filet mignon he had as well as the mac n’ cheese and the warm butter cake dessert. My husband doesn’t really care for dessert unless it’s chocolate and even then, he’s not a “must have dessert” kind of guy. So him going on and on about a non-chocolate dessert really had me wondering just how good it was…and giving him the pouty sad-kitty look for eating something yummy without me. I don’t begrudge him a night out with the guys but if he eats at a good restaurant I haven’t tried before, he HAS to take me there. It’s in our marriage vows. So for Valentine’s day, I got a fancy steak dinner!

When we arrived, we were seated in the upstairs dining room. A piano sat next to the stairway and a long bar stood against against a wall. Thick curtains covered the opposite wall of windows, making the room a dimly lit, posh space. Waiters in white jackets wandered around servicing their tables. Since our reservation was fairly early in the evening, the restaurant was mostly empty.

Our waitress quickly arrived to take drink orders and was very friendly and laid-back. She even joked around with us thru the night. It caught me a little off guard how casual they were with their customers given the type of establishment we were at. I actually liked this approach as it made the place less intimidating and “hoighty-toighty” and lightened the mood of the dark room…very different ambiance compared to BOA Las Vegas.

I ordered a cucumber melon mojito while Husband went for a Margarita. While I didn’t get any cucumber melon flavoring, the mojito was sweet, just the way I like it. It was also strong as I quickly started feeling the effects (well, I am a lightweight as well). Luckily, we had a basket of bread to soak up the alcohol. Rustic white rolls, crispy cheese crostinis and pretzel rolls which were very good – fluffy inside, nice baked crust and just the right amount of salt.

For our shared appetizer, Husband and I agreed on the vanilla-battered shrimp, mainly because everything else consisted of seafood he didn’t eat. There were quite a few things that sounded appealing, from raw oysters to an ahi tuna stack to crab claws. There was also an option to build a “seafood tower” by combining several choices off the menu. Ah well, vanilla battered shrimp sounded interesting. When the dish arrived, 3 very large shrimps sat on the plate; these were more like baby lobster-sized. The batter was light and nicely fried, not saturated with oil. The subtle sweetness of vanilla in the breading complimented the shrimp.

Both of us ordered the petite filet (8oz) as our main course, medium-well for him and medium/medium-rare for me. Marinated in a 15-ingredient rub and cooked w/ butter, this was perhaps the best steak I have eaten in my life. Mine was cooked perfectly – a nice seared outside with a warm pink middle. This was a tender, juicy, flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth fine piece of beef. A simple, elegant steak…the way it should be! Husband and I played the guessing game as to what went into the rub based on what we could taste. Garlic, onion, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper were confirmed by our waitress but beyond that… Someone with a more refined and trained palette can crack a guess.

To supplement our steaks, Husband ordered the mac n’ cheese, the creamed corn and the lobster mashed potatoes.

I was keen to try the mac n’ cheese since all the boys were going on and on about it. Mastro’s version is very classic – elbow macaroni with a 5-cheese sauce topped with a layer of more cheese. It’s baked and served in a skillet and comes out hot and bubbling. Fontina, Gorgonzola and Gruyere were just some of the cheeses that went into the mix. The Gorgonzola was what I tasted the most, though. While I like this strong cheese in moderate amounts, it was a little overpowering for the dish. It is a great mac n’ cheese but I can’t claim it’s my absolute favorite like some of Husband’s friends do.

The creamed corn was A-MAIZE-ING. Okay, bad bad… I have never had creamed corn before but this was a fantastic way to be introduced to it. I actually had cravings for it the next day and day after. Good thing we had leftovers, which were packed neatly and nicely and put in a bag for us. Husband, who doesn’t care for the stuff, liked Mastro’s creamed corn and even helped himself to the leftovers the next day. Apparently, if I want him to like something, I should have Mastro’s make it.

Husband was contemplating ordering the twin lobster tails for us since he really wanted lobster. However, when our waitress listed off lobster mashed potatoes as a “special” side, he ordered that instead. I was pleasantly surprised with how much lobster meat from both the tail and claws was included in this side dish. And it was cooked perfectly as well. No rubberiness! As for the potatoes, creamy smoothness. The cooks in the kitchen really know how to technically execute their dishes. When Husband suggested to the waiter that the lobster mashed potatoes be added to the menu as a regular item, she said that it basically was but they just didn’t list it to make it sound “special”. Hahaha…

At this point, I was pretty full but I really wanted to try this warm butter cake that the guys were all abuzz about so we ordered it. And the Chocolate Pudding Cake because Husband wanted to try it… The butter cake is really a dessert that is meant to be shared between 4 or more people; it’s large and it’s REALLY good. Served with a side of freshly made whipped cream, this was a warm, smooth, rich dessert. It was strangely light and fluffy yet dense at the same time. Turns out, they use cream cheese as a secret ingredient to give the butter cake its texture. We finished about two-thirds of it and I was sad to see the rest go to waste. Such a shame to not finish such a great dessert. I tried though, I really did… The Chocolate Pudding Cake was also a superb choice. Flavored with espresso, the bitterness cut back on the sweetness of the chocolate making it rich without hurting the palette. Visually though, it was not the most appealing looking dessert once the Husband started digging in.

On our way out, our waitress gave us a small box with two chocolate hearts in it, a Valentine’s gift for the customers from the restaurant.

Mastro’s is a great steakhouse with fabulous service and even better food. A dinner here, though, will put a nice fat dent in your wallet. But it’s well worth it, I think.

5 NOMs for Mastro’s, my new favorite steakhouse!

Boa – Las Vegas

In the Forum Shops (Caesar’s Place) is a well-known steakhouse, BOA.

Saturday night, we and 3 other couples gathered there for a birthday dinner. We had 8:30 reservations and due to the Mayweather-Hatton fight, it was not as busy as I thought it would be.

After we get seated, our waiter comes by with our menus. This waiter, by far, was one of the best I have ever encountered. He knew his wines, had good recommendations, was attentive, polite and just all around fabulous. We start off with a couple of bottles of red wine based on his recommendations for our price range and some appetizers.

Our waiter arranged for us to get a free order of truffle nachos which were potato chips with melted gruyere cheese, diced tomatoes and since I didn’t see truffles, I’m guessing truffle oil was involved. It was mediocre as the chips were soggy and the flavor muted. However, the blue fin tuna tartare that I shared with one of the couples was fantastic. The tuna was sliced into deli-thin long pieces and covered with some sort of sauce that added a lovely sweetness and amazing flavor to the tuna. The fish quality was grand as it just melted in my mouth. Another couple had crabcakes and claimed they were the best ever. We had warm rolls that were infused with herbs and were amazingly soft on the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside.

For our main course, Dan got the petite filet mignon with peppercorn sauce and a lobster tail. I chose the petite as well with a side of fresh horseradish (beware, quite potent compared to other places’ fresh horseradish). My piece of meat was one of the best filets I’ve ever had. It was very moist, tender and perfectly cooked to the medium rare request. Even though I did not ask for a rub, it was seasoned so well that every bite was flavorful. Dan’s lobster tail was the best lobster I ever had. It was not overcooked thus not rubbery at all and was fresh as the taste was mild but good. As sides, we all shared mashed potatoes which where whipped to a creamy goodness, truffled mac n’ cheese which were okay as it was already lukewarm when served and grilled asparagus which was quite tasty.

For dessert, I ordered a glass of Fonseca 10 yr old port and the vanilla beam creme brulee which I could not finish due to being absolutely stuffed. The brulee came with a cinammon cone of crunchiness that held blueberries and some strawberry pieces. Dan opted for the flourless chocolate cake which was just a mound of gooey chocolate deliciousness. The other two couples ordered the restaurant’s more mature take on s’mores which looked quite yummy. The roasted marshmallow was perfectly done, having the soft gooey center and crispy outer browned layer. Somewhere during that meal, a 3rd bottle of wine was ordered. Since the bottle we did want just sold out, the waiter brought another comparable selection for us instead.

Overall, thanks to Dan’s lobster, our bill came out to $300+, $80 of that being the lobster. Gotta love that “mkt price”. o_O But even though there was a slight twinge of buyer’s regret, that meal was the best that I have ever had in my life (so far) in terms of quality, taste and service. The waiter noticed that we were all in couples and divided our bill without asking into 4 separate checks to make it easier on us. Brownie points for that!

Would I go back? In a heartbeat. If only we could afford to eat like that every night…

Boa gets 5 NOMs and a whole lot of purring from this Catty Critic.  This was definitely a good case of “you got what you paid for”.